Suspension sway

[Dayzwalker]

Hey guys I'm new to the whole Mazda and Protege world...but not to customizing cars. I've built many honda tuner cars for show and drags. I've also built street rods, kustoms and kustom bikes so I know my way around a garage well.

My question is....

All of these options are out there to help the stock Protege 5 handle. What are the weak links in the P5 suspension? I've seen alot of options...from strut braces, sway bars, new end links and trailing arms, and chassis ladder bars. Whats the best bang for the buck...and what should I concentrate my efforts on?

My main usefor my P5 will be for weekend drives up in the hills and high performance street driving.

 

[xelderx]

Struts and springs should be high on the list. The Pro5 had the base suspension on it. Just upgrading to the Tokico Blues that came stock on the MSP/MP3 is a great overall improvent. The Tokico Illuminas are probably the best bang for the buck adjustable struts available, but there are a few more race derived and expensive options. Once the struts and springs are upgraded to something a little more performance oriented I would look at a larger rear swaybar. This helps the handling of the car more than any other singular piece, but I don't believe it should be the first thing on the list. The rear swaybar will help overcome the dreaded understeer and inner wheelspin on corner exit, but the struts and springs are always doing far more work, more of the time so they need to be addressed first. You don't realize how horrible the stock struts and springs are until you upgrade them to see what you are missing.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

if anyone knows this car's suspension best, its xelderx

we carry a pretty wide suspension assortment for these cars and can answer many questions you might have. drop us a line or check out our site.

welcome to the forums!

 

[nealric]

I did my suspension up quite nicely for about $1300:

Tokico illuminas: $450
Mazdaspeed protege springs: $50 (used from a forum member)
progress rear sway bar: $150
AWR rear endlinks $70
Wilwood big brakes (www.e-racer.com) $650

You could skip on the big brakes of course- Im just one of those crazy people who gets brake fade on public roads.

 

[65racecoupe]

I added the following all in one install, so I don't know which is the "best" if you had to do one. My handling improved vastly. The car feels much tighter

1. AWR 22mm Rear Sway Bar and endlinks (probably the most improvement)
2. GT Spec rear trailing arms (much stronger looking than stockers)
3. GT Spec Y Brace
4. GT Spec Rear strut bar
5. GT Spec Rear Trunk Cage (connects to the rear sway bar - looks really neat when done correctly, but not a bang for the buck)

Yet to install - GT Spec "H" brace, lower tie bar, and front strut bar. I will install them after my built engine / turbo install.